Cleanup Plan Sought for Canyon : Sylmar: Rangers ask county planners to help restore Big Tujunga Canyon. They hope to rid the area of the signs of urban decay.

Beset by graffiti, garbage and gridlock, forest rangers Wednesday asked Los Angeles County planning commissioners to help them rescue a popular local canyon from urban decay.

About 5 million people visit Big Tujunga Canyon annually, turning the once-pristine area northeast of Sylmar into a replica of some of the Los Angeles’ worst urban areas.

The area is in such wretched condition that it has long languished on a list of canyons available for adoption by private businesses and the public, said Carla Van Dyne, a spokeswoman for the U. S. Forest Service.

To reverse the damage, Forest Service officials plan to radically change the way they manage the 75,000-acre watershed.

Proposals include installing tollbooths at the mouth of the canyon, closing some sections of the area completely and building more turnouts on Big Tujunga Road, a narrow, winding route used by Antelope Valley commuters.

Because the county operates that road and several dams and probation camps in the area, county planning commissioners were asked Wednesday to cooperate in the restoration effort.

After listening to a short presentation given by two forest rangers, the commissioners pledged to help draft a new management plan for the canyon. The process, which includes a series of public hearings, is expected to take at least 18 months and is subject to approval by Forest Supervisor Mike Rogers.

“I haven’t been up there in a long time--15 or so years,” said Commissioner Pat Russell, who represents the area for Supervisor Mike Antonovich. “I didn’t realize it was in this condition.”

The federal government allocated only about $300,000 this year to maintain the canyon and 70,814 additional acres, said Julie Molzahn, a federal official in charge of the project. Part of the money pays for bilingual teams of inner-city residents, who hand out garbage bags to visitors and inform them of the rules.

Nearly every Sunday during the summer, rangers have to close the canyon because it is so crowded.

The question of how improvements included in the final plan would be funded was not raised during Wednesday’s meeting. The Forest Service may charge visitors parking and entry fees, seek grants and ask the city and county of Los Angeles for a portion of the funds, Molzahn said.